# Deborah Read — The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin character guide

> Deborah Read in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miss Read

**First appearance:** 0006-iii-arrival-in-philadelphia

## Snapshot

The young Philadelphia woman Franklin courted before his London voyage, whose life became tangled with his when he returned to a changed city.

## Who they are

Miss Read is the early romantic thread in Franklin's narrative, the woman he leaves behind with vague promises when he sails for England. Her circumstances sour in his absence, and their reunion is complicated by an unfortunate marriage she could not escape. She matters because she turns Franklin's story from a lone apprentice's rise into a domestic reckoning about loyalty, absence, and second chances.

## Relationships

### [Sir William Keith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/sir_william_keith)

_social_

Keith was a family acquaintance who initially encouraged Franklin's courtship of Deborah.

## In the story

### [The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/the-autobiography-of-benjamin-franklin)

Franklin's future wife, whom he met shortly after arriving in Philadelphia.

### [Arrival in Philadelphia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/iii-arrival-in-philadelphia)

Miss Read, whom Franklin first sees while eating a roll in the street; later he lodges at her father's house.

### [IV: First Visit to Boston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/iv-first-visit-to-boston)

Mentioned indirectly as Franklin's future wife; she is not directly involved in this chapter's events.

### [Early Friends in Philadelphia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/v-early-friends-in-philadelphia)

Franklin courts her but is advised by her mother to delay marriage until after his return from a voyage.

### [Interest in Public Affairs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/xi-interest-in-public-affairs)

Franklin's wife; her house is offered to Whitefield for lodging.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/deborah_read
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters